In order to get walkers down from the carpark exit from Park Güell a tourist superhighway is being constructed along what used to be a nostalgic dogshit alley. To enliven the concrete a Gaudí quote is repeated in languages starting with Arabic and ending with Catalan that “Everything comes from the great book of Nature.” Unfortunately quality control has never been the strongest aspect of Barcelona Council’s addiction to visionary plans, so the German version misplaces its ß:
ALLES KOMMT AUSßDEM GRO EN BUCH DER NATUR Antoni Gaudí
A photo:
Observed yesterday on this walk. This symbolic attachment to unfamiliar characters reminds me of the fetishism of tree-huggers who embrace species without knowing their names or what makes them live or die. I’ll try to snap the Japanese, Chinese, Hebrew and Arabic next time I’m up there to see if you can spot any surprises.
Similar posts
- Taking the peace? Catalan village writes Shalom backwards
A few months back I posted about Barcelona Council’s totemistic approach to foreign languages. Here, from CataloniaWatch, is another brilliant example: - Degerundisation in Furrin
In Spanish etc., campsite > camping, carpark > parking, etc., but then in German happy ending > happy End. Who cares? - “Barcelona Council misappropriated €250 million inheritance using mistranslation of German will”
This blog has speculated over the years that much translation in Spain has been commissioned primarily in order to enrich and/or - Barcelona Council, fan of the heavy metal umlaut?
The council’s Christmas greetings–some of which include Spanish, the city’s common language–wish passersby “Fröhe Weihnachten” instead of “Frohe Weihnachten”. Regional president - Hotel chain adapting weather forecasts to client expectations on language basis?
Hotel Medium Confort on Travesera de Gracia, Barcelona has a little display device on the reception counter which tells you in
Set in stone. There's a town on the Granada/Almería border called Huescar. Fine looking place. They are just finishing off a handsome looking museum to wow the visitors, and have decorated the exterior walls of this stone building with fourteen Roman grave-covers ('tablets', I think they're called) inscribed in, of course, Latin. Amazing things 1.5 metres long each and every one. As far as I can see, the Latin is perfecto (perfectus). Only problem – the builders who cemented these grave-covers into the walls not only apparently couldn't read Latin, they also thought that the Romans liked to write everything upsidedown.
Yes, I'm afraid so.
I have seen the exactly same thing in a church built at least 3 centuries ago.
Ignorance knows no borders, none at all. Not even time.
But we counted on time!
Zero progression.